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Finland Won’t Charge Drivers Under the Influence of Cannabis

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he Supreme Court of Finland recently ruled that motorists in the country will not be charged for driving under the influence of cannabis, despite the way impaired driving is treated in other nations.

According to YLE in Finland, the ruling was made because while cannabis only impacts drivers for a few hours, traces can be left behind in the system that can be there for days. It wouldn’t be fair to claim that someone is impaired by cannabis if they consumed it days ago.

Cannabis is still illegal in Finland and individuals can be charged for possession of cannabis, even though you can’t be charged with driving under the influence. “It’s quite rational that finding it several days after use would not lead to a drunk driving penalty because it does not affect the ability to drive,” said Teemu Gunnar, a forensic toxicologist with the National Institute of Health and Welfare.

This decision was reached because of a case that was elevated to the country’s Supreme Court. The court dismissed an appeal court conviction in the case where the driver was under the influence, claiming that cannabis “does not affect the ability to drive nor endanger traffic safety even at high levels.” District Prosecutor Tero Kekki explained this in further detail to YLE, saying, “We have acted in accordance with the Supreme Court guideline, in other words for the most part we do not lay charges. Before [the precedent] it led to charges.”

“We have reacted and practices have changed. So we don’t do any unnecessary work,” added detective inspector Ilpo Pajunen of the Helsinki police department.

Many countries are starting to adopt less strict cannabis policies, even places like Finland that haven’t yet legalized cannabis. Global attitudes towards cannabis are slowly but surely shifting as nations decriminalize and enact less strict laws about the plant.

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